This is an artwork of a sweet little corgi, Morgan. She’s a Pembroke Welsh Corgi with beautiful golden fur and such a pretty little face.

Morgan is very much a family dog, enjoying companionship and play with her owners, but feeling more shy and reserved with strangers.

Originally bred as herding dogs, corgis are independent, intelligent, loyal and eager to please. Little dogs in size, but can be feisty, thoughtful, or even clownish in nature.

The corgi story that really captured my imagination is the legend that corgis were originally the steeds of Welsh fairy warriors and were ridden into battle by the fairies or pulled fairy carriages. Supposedly, two Pembroke Welsh Corgis were given to two human children by the Welsh woodland fairies.

It is this magical air to the corgi that I wanted to uncover in my corgi art...

Take a look at how I created the artwork, below...

Detail of corgi artwork

Behind-the-scenes - creating my corgi art...

I create my artwork by drawing the dog portrait and accompanying flowers and other elements separately.

I work with pens on card.

I then scan the drawings into the computer.

I work with the drawings in Adobe Illustrator software programme, bringing them together onto one artboard, working on the layout and scale and adjusting colours to create the final artwork...

I chose to surround my corgi with red poppies. Poppies have been associated with fairies and are said to bring fairies into one’s dreams.

I’ve also included ferns from the fairies’ magical woodland home. In the Language of Flowers, ferns are also connected with magic.

I wanted to include fairy mayflies dancing across the artwork. These beautiful, tiny insects really do look just like fairies as they flit above woodland streams and as the sunlight catches their delicate wings. Morgan certainly looks entranced!

Here's what happened - please, click on the images to see them larger with further explanation about each part of the process...

Starting the corgi drawing

Adding colour to the corgi drawing

Drawing the flowers

Drawing the 'fairies'

Starting to create digitally

Getting colourful

Working on the composition

Intricate layers added to the background

The completed corgi artwork

I love the really vibrant colours in the artwork – the lively mix of teal, green, red, gold, pink, and orange. I love the bright, whimsical expression of this gorgeous little dog and how the magic seems to dance all around her and enchant her.

Steed of the woodland fairies… will you ever see your corgi in the same light again?